Asian stocks fell for the first time in four days, led by banks and technology companies, as a record slump in Japanese factory production and lower profit forecasts renewed concern the global slowdown is deepening. Toshiba Corp., Japan’s No. 1 chipmaker, and Nintendo Co., which makes the Wii game console, tumbled more than 12 percent after reducing earnings forecasts. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc., Japan’s biggest listed bank, slumped 5.5 percent as government reports indicated the country is headed for its worst postwar recession. Nippon Yusen K.K., Japan’s biggest shipping line, plunged 16 percent after slowing commodities demand in China prompted it to reduce earnings targets. “The recession is going to be deeper than what we read to be the consensus,” said Alistair Thompson, who helps manage about $16 billion in equities at First State Investments in Singapore. “People are saying there’s going to be a recovery toward the end of the year, but the credit binge we’ve had is going to take an awful lot longer to unwind.” The MSCI Asia Pacific Index dropped 2.1 percent to 82.92 as of 2:09 p.m. in Tokyo, extending its January decline to 7.5 percent. The gauge had rallied 5.8 percent in the past three days as the U.S., Japan and Australia widened efforts to ease the financial crisis. Worsening credit turmoil caused the MSCI measure to slump in eight of the past nine months. Most markets in the region declined. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average dropped 3.7 percent, taking its loss this month to 10 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.5 percent. South Korea’s Kospi Index lost 0.4 percent as North Korea scrapped military accords with its southern neighbor. Toyota Motor Corp., the world’s largest automaker, fell 5.4 percent in Tokyo as it suspended production at its only plant in Mexico because of slowing demand. Record Decline Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index added 0.6 percent. The gauge dropped 3.3 percent yesterday, snapping four days of gains, as reports showed new home sales fell to an all-time low and the number of Americans receiving jobless benefits surged to a record. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index’s declines this year extended last year’s record 43 percent tumble as credit turmoil weighed on economies worldwide. The slump has cut the average valuation of companies on the stock benchmark by 34 percent in the past year to 10.4 times reported profit. Global growth will almost grind to a halt this year as more than $2 trillion of bad assets from the U.S. weigh on economies worldwide, an International Monetary Fund report said yesterday. Japanese factory output sank by a record 9.6 percent last month from November, the Trade Ministry said today, while separate government reports showed the jobless rate surged the most in 41 years to 4.4 percent and household spending fell for a 10th month. ‘Scarier And Scarier’ Mitsubishi UFJ lost 5.5 percent to 498 yen. Mizuho Financial Group Inc., Japan’s second-largest bank, slumped 6.1 percent to 230 yen. Fanuc Ltd., the world’s No. 1 industrial-robot maker, retreated 6.8 percent to 5,450 yen. “It’s getting scarier and scarier,” said Hiroshi Morikawa, a senior strategist at Tokyo-based MU Investments Co., which manages about $14 billion. “With businesses firing workers and people tightening their purse strings, companies will possibly bring out disappointing forecasts.” Toshiba plunged 19 percent to 311 yen after reversing its full-year profit outlook to a loss as the global recession damped demand for chips used in consumer electronics. Nintendo tumbled 12 percent to 28,300 yen in Osaka trading after cutting its full- year net income forecast by 33 percent. Biggest Declines Kyocera Corp., the world’s fourth-largest solar-cell maker, dropped 5.1 percent to 5,850 yen. The company slashed its full- year profit target by 64 percent, citing a decline in the global electronics market. A gauge of technology shares on MSCI’s Asia index dropped 3.7 percent. Toyota lost 5.4 percent to 2,885 yen as the five-day halt at its Mexico plant added to production cuts already announced for the U.S. and Canada. Nippon Yusen fell 16 percent to 431 yen, Kawasaki Kisen also slumped 14 percent to 332 yen, and Mitsui O.S.K. plunged 11 percent to 534 yen. The shipping lines slashed their profit targets as slower growth in China cut demand for transportation of iron-ore and coal to the world’s most populous nation.

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